Instrument ground knowledge

Posted by Mysterious_Set_8558@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 12 comments

I am working on my instrument now. trying to study as much as I can everyday. I got shepherd air and sporty's modules so I can get a better understanding on basics. I am overwhelmed with information. I am type of person if I dont know the whys, I think I have a big knowledge gap. how much instrument pilots retain the information you guys learn in your ground in real life? like all the minimum Da and mda, non standard departures and approachs, , things like that? I think i can look at the approch chart and interpret but i feel like I am losing knowledge faster than I gain them. ppl grounds seems like cake when I compare to this lol. Any input would be appreciated.

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12 Comments

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Spirit_of_No_Face@reddit

This is gonna sound wild but I actually read the AIM.. I recommending starting with chapter 5.

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Prestigious_Path_188@reddit

I was just about to suggest this too. I found it very helpful in understanding the WHY behind a lot of things.

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Mysterious_Set_8558@reddit (OP)

I really appreciate everyone's insights and ideas. Honestly, feels little bit better! @everyone

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Fast-Geese@reddit

IFR flying is a lot of GK, and for a pretty good reason. One thing that helped me was mock planning a flight from start to finish from two fields I wasn’t familiar with, and think through everything from where I’m parked, the taxi to the runway, how I’m getting out (SID, SDP, etc), routing, arrival through approach, to taxi back to whatever FBO. When you’re walking through it, don’t just go “yeah I’m flying ILS Rwy XX into XYZ”, think about how you’d ACTUALLY fly the approach - which IAF, stepdowns, routing, which NAVAIDs tuned up, the missed, etc. “I’m gonna hit FIX, should be tracking this course and I can descend down to 3100, waiting for this radial to start my turn onto final, once on final I can descend to 2700. Gonna configure at XX DME, start my descent to 500, if I don’t see the runway environment I’m doing (missed).” You get the idea. Find some real world examples that give you the why behind why you’d need a certain piece of information.

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swedishlightning@reddit

This is excellent advice /u/mysterious_set_8558. I would also suggest considering a PilotEdge subscription if you have a computer that could run X-Plane (your goal here is looking at the instrument panel so you don’t need amazing graphics quality for the scenery…just enough to run the game). This allows you to do the planning and then actually fly the flight. They have a set of instrument training modules that walk you through this process a dozen times or so, then you can start doing it on your own. You can sync ForeFlight on your iPad to the sim, so you can brief plates as you would in a real plane. I think they had a month free trial at one point, but not sure if they still do. Additionally, I found it really helpful to watch a ton of videos of real GA IFR flights. Martin Pauly’s early videos are great for this, as are coma13794’s videos. Helps you see how a real flight comes together and why all the individual pieces from the IFH matter. Then Sheppard to prep for the actual written exam. It will help you polish you knowledge if you make sure to understand why you missed any questions you got wrong. And it will ensure you get a good score on the written, which paves the way for a smooth oral, which paves the way for a smooth checkride. Best $40 you can spend in aviation. The pilots cafe sheet is well worth the couple bucks they charge for it as well, as others have mentioned. Still refer back to it from time to time.

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acfoltzer@reddit

If you're not in a huge rush, consider listening to the Opposing Bases podcast. It's of course not a course syllabus so not all of the episodes or segments will be relevant, but they often will break down situations and procedures in ways that give exactly the "why" perspective that you're looking for. Their [ODP episodes](https://opposingbases.libsyn.com/bonus-obstacle-departure-procedures) are particularly great for this.

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Mysterious_Set_8558@reddit (OP)

Yeah, not in a rush. i want do this the absolute right way. My goal is commercial so I know how much IR is important in aviation carrier. But my gosh when people say IR is hard, never expect this much. Thank you.

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rtd131@reddit

I'm doing flightinsight right now and I think he does a much better job of explaining the "why" than the sporty's courses ever did. I would recommend the ifr course and if not at least watching all of his ifr courses on YouTube

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acfoltzer@reddit

That's an excellent attitude to have for something as complex and safety-critical as instrument. I personally love it, but I also have the type of brain that's made a career in programming and compilers; I know it's not everyone's favorite. It'll serve you very well to keep asking "why", and pay particular note when anything surprises you in the air or on the ground. There's almost always an answer you can look up, even if it takes you outside of what's typically given to pilots, like JO 7110.65 and the TERPS. Even though they're dry and procedural, understanding a bit extra about why things work the way they do will translate into better planning and situational awareness, and will make for a quick ground portion of your checkride.

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SlipSeparate5211@reddit

It’s perfectly fine to feel overwhelmed, just have consistency in studying. I’m the exact type, I want to know a lot about something even though it’s not necessary, it helps me retain the information. I recommend the Instrument Procedures Handbook and the Instrument Flying Handbook. You don’t have to read the entire books, but you can use the books for the areas that you want to research more and learn about to have a concrete foundation on and to feel comfortable in. We do use a lot of the IFR knowledge but you do it so much it becomes second nature. This doesn’t mean you’ll always retain all the knowledge. I’ve always explained it as a backpack that you’re always filling with seawater, eventually some things like sand, shells, etc. get in your back and never leave but the water always seeps out. It’s a constant process of studying to retain information. “Use it or lose it”.

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cazzipropri@reddit

It's a process of "eating the chocolate elephant". There is certainly a body of knowledge that you fine tune for the written, then another body you fine tune for the oral, then a third body or knowledge you actually use in real life. To avoid drowning in material, try to tackle the obstacles one at a time.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity: --- I am working on my instrument now. trying to study as much as I can everyday. I got shepherd air and sporty's modules so I can get a better understanding on basics. I am overwhelmed with information. I am type of person if I dont know the whys, I think I have a big knowledge gap. how much instrument pilots retain the information you guys learn in your ground in real life? like all the minimum Da and mda, non standard departures and approachs, , things like that? I think i can look at the approch chart and interpret but i feel like I am losing knowledge faster than I gain them. ppl grounds seems like cake when I compare to this lol. Any input would be appreciated. --- Please downvote this comment until it collapses. Questions about this comment? [Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/wiki/index/rflyingtower/). --- I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please [contact the mods of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/flying).